smoke and mirrors
by essential.invisible
Summary: abigail secretly ships sam and cassie. no, really. post episode five.


**title: **smoke and mirrors

**characters: **abigail, sam, cassie

**summary: **abigail merrywick ships sam and cassie. no, really. post episode five.

**notes: **this show, i swear. please let me know what you think, reviews are appreciated. :)

:::

Abigail Merrywick didn't come to Middleton to cause trouble. Or, not too much trouble, anyway. Cassie Nightingale is her family – the Russell children are her _family_ and that still means something to her. So she'll stir the pot, she'll be the bad guy – because Cassie, for everything she knows and can see, is surprisingly blind about what concerns herself.

She's in New York when she feels the urge to visit her cousin. So she pulls up roots, leaves her apartment and catches a bus. Sam Radford, Dr. Sam Radford, is one of the first people she runs into, and suddenly everything becomes clear. It takes a bit of effort to stop herself from bouncing a little and clapping her hands excitedly – Sam is a _hottie_ – and _exactly_ what Cassie needs. She makes conversation, feeling him out – he seems only too happy to deliver her to Grey House, and Abigail knows that it's not on her account.

Cassie is Cassie – still stunning, still wary and still so _blind_. Lori is wary, Grace is excited and the Doc's kid is stunned (hey, she can't blame the kid, she is kind of fabulous). She also doesn't miss that his son expects his dad to be next door. It's a great sign. Abigail can barely contain her excitement – it's very rare that she's been a step ahead of Cassie and she is going to _enjoy_ this.

:::

Of course, that is before she meets (so to speak) Ryan and Stephanie.

:::

Abigail wonders why she ever thought anything to do with her cousin was going to be easy. She's trying to think of the best way to finagle things between her cousin and the love of the rest of her life while she helps Grace and Lori. Okay, maybe _meddle_, is the better word. Maybe.

She decides to make a preemptive move on the Stephanie front and works her way into becoming Sam's new receptionist. Abigail can see the claws come out from a mile off; it's a little hilarious (she has no regrets - that perfume is bitching, Cassie has fantastic taste). She has to admit the muffins are a nice touch (she's not allergic, but has no qualms about making sure they never go anywhere near Sam) – but Cassie is her cousin, and she'll be damned if she lets some bleached blonde bimbo step in on her cousin's turf. Okay, so Stephanie's actually pretty smart; and probably a real blonde. That's completely beside the point, though. She's still not going near her cousin's man.

Abigail loves Cassie – so she's willing to sacrifice a heel and delay Sam a little (what's an hour or two in the scheme of things?). If it has the added benefit of Sam crashing Cassie and Ryan's dinner, well, that's just a bonus. A great bonus – the story of beautiful Cassie Nightingale sharing a torte with two of Middleton's most eligible bachelors does the rounds _really_ quickly.

She gets home and realizes that her work with Grace and Lori is complete – baby Russell probably won't try to grow up too quickly again anytime soon, and that's a great thing, the girl is really not cut out to be a rebel. Lori's got her big-sister boots on, which will leave Cassie free to pursue something (everything) with Sam.

She is _awesome_.

:::

Actually, she sucks. Sam's invited Stephanie over for dinner. _At his house._ That throws a wrench in her plans before Sam extends an unexpected lifeline. He can't cook. Abigail very generously offers to help, mentioning that one of her exes had taught her everything she knew. Not that she intends to extend that knowledge on to Sam. He's a doctor, so it doesn't take much to convince him that all he needs is a recipe. _Men._

One disaster averted, she turns her mind on how to knock some sense into Ryan. The man doesn't seem to understand that his _friendship_ with Cassie is the best thing that could have happened to him – taking it any further will destroy that.

She's feeling pretty smug when she gets back to Grey House. Cassie tries to sneak up on her (it's a game that Abigail plays, Cassie wins more often than not, which is _annoying_, considering she doesn't realize she's meant to be playing) and seems to be pretty upset.

Aah, Grace 'fessed up.

She gets into it with Cassie, is frustrated enough that she blurts it all out. Sam is Cassie's, just as Cassie is Sam's. Her cousin is just too blind to see it.

Of course Abigail realizes it's a mistake as soon as she says it. She tries to head Ryan off at the pass, but she hears him come into the kitchen, and shamelessly eavesdrops.

_Ugh_, her cousin can be so frustrating. Abigail isn't giving up though – she may have lost this battle, but there's still a war to be fought.

Cassie Nightingale and Sam Radford belong together.

She just has to make _them_ see it.


End file.
